A tragic story of sorts - a man stuck writing letters to a fleeting lover of his past. Trying to understand his present by written letters to a woman no longer living, Letters to Conceicao is the sad truth about letting go.

During a business trip to Cambodia, a man is given a package of letters by a mysterious woman. The letters prove to be unmailed letters written by a thirty-something American man named Vasco to his lost love, Conceição. The return addresses are from all over the world, and the narrative clearly begins as Vasco’s attempts to come to terms with his heartbreak over the long-since-ended relationship he had with Conceição. As the letters progress, Vasco begins to detail his life and travels, which took him all over the world and allowed him to meet all sorts of people, who he describes in the letters. Though Vasco is constantly searching for the person he believes is his soulmate, he is able to help other people find their path– even if it’s not the most straightforward one. But when Vasco begins to have strange dreams about a woman named Sok Meta, he starts to believe not only that she is real, but that she is his soulmate and so he embarks on a journey to find her, with only her name and the memory of a river to guide him.

The epistolary novel is nothing new in Western literature and indeed is a useful device when an author wishes to plunge a reader into the intimate details of a character’s life without having to first wade through the layers of background information that the standard novel format would provide. And so the reader is introduced, with hardly a ‘Hello, how are you?’ into the life of Vasco, an English teacher who loves to travel the world, has friends everywhere, and yet lacks a purpose. Part of this comes from his unresolved love for Conceição, the first girl he fell in love with but who left him with hardly a glance back. And part of Vasco’s rootlessness stems from a conversation he had with a mysterious woman in an airport, who declared that every person has a soulmate and that Vasco would eventually find his. Whether or not this belief is ultimately good for Vasco, or if it leads him to make questionable decisions is up for debate. But it does lead him around the world while he searches for this possible soulmate, resulting in the travelogue that weaves through the narrative– the descriptions of places and people often feel as though they’re drawn from life.

Perhaps they are. A look at the author’s biography at the back of the book reveals that Jorge Molina del Callejo has a similar background to Vasco’s: both were raised in California, did post-graduate studies in Minnesota before embarking on global travel that brought them to southeastern Asia, where much of the book takes place.

The similarities between the main character’s life and the author’s life might lead one to ask, “where does biography end and fiction begin?” Are Vasco’s friends thinly veiled (or perhaps unveiled) portrayals of people Molina del Callejo has actually met? Are all of them drawn from life? Half of them? None of them? And if even part of this story is drawn from life, what are we to make of Vasco’s dreams of Sok Meta? What, if anything, is real?

Perhaps that is the point, though it’s difficult to say for sure. The text provides few answers, but much of modern literary criticism insists that a book can be understood in light of the author’s biography. So what is one supposed to make of My Letters to Conceição, knowing that Vasco’s life strongly mirrors that of the author’s, save for (one assumes) the mystical dreams and connection between Vasco and the dream woman, Sok Meta? Is the implication that reality is not as defined as we think it is? Is there some mystical connection that binds two souls together, no matter the distance? Whatever those answers may be, the book provides few answers, serving instead as a thought experiment that touches the surface of a deeper philosophy without diving more deeply into it.

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Thank you to Incorgnito Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

This epistolary novel is a subtly dark story that blurs the line of love and obsession. Vasco is a young man who has just learned his first love, Conceição, has died. His response to this is to begin writing her letters. In these letters he imparts a mix of things happening in his life now and catching her up on his past since they broke up, including a great deal of wonderful travel around the world. As his letters become increasingly crazed, he begins to write about dreams that are ever more haunted by ghosts, and certain they will lead him to a soulmate.

Vasco is an interesting if unlikeable character, incredibly selfish, jealous and a bit narcissistic. In perspective this is interesting because he is quite rosy about things, as an outsider we can see through the surface impression - an inconsequential example, Vasco ruminates philosophically about how he is studying people, when in reality what he's described is identifying vulnerable people and stalking them. He is throughout quite adamant that his relationship with Conceição was special, but not soulmates, so it's all okay for him that they broke up. Yet he's writing letters continuously, growing to multiple letters per day, and at times feels driven to make inappropriate contacts or ask questions about her. Since her, all his relationships in life are extremely detached, he views other people as distractions when he wants them, mainly having male friends who are drunks & braggarts, and women who are vulnerable or he sees his relationship as a threat to men in their lives. His idealistic vision of having a soulmate seems to be more important for him than all the possible real connections and relationships he could have with the people in his life. Even as part of the letters he repeatedly mentions things like how much he has valued the regained friendship over the course of the letters and he values her listening, so he literally can't identify the difference between a friendship and just talking to himself - a bit brilliantly, late in the novel he winds up on the receiving end of a one way letter himself, that confounds him.

Largely I think a lot of this characterization is driven from complicated emotional traumas, barely there because of the perspective, but present nonetheless. (major spoiler for the emotional impact of the story) <spoiler>In a fairly detailed account of Vasco and Conceição's first sexual encounter, he looks back on it quite lovingly, we learn that he raped her (not violently, but lack of consent is apparent). The immediate reaction for the reader is quickly turned on it's head, as we are slowly led on a trail of breadcrumbs scattered in the letters that tell us there is a very big age gap, Conceição is the one who is much older, everyone assumes they are close like siblings, anyone who finds out they are romantic is horrified, and that he is still in high school near the end of their relationship. We ultimately don't get a whole lot more solid info, but it certainly seems like there was a predatory relationship that shaped him on his way to adulthood. In perspective he clearly doesn't see a problem with any of these things and tries to dismiss the idea there would be any concerns. </spoiler> Despite his reassurances about moving on, it's apparent that he was affected by their breakup in ways beyond what he could process, so rather than moving on he ran away. This really benefits the reader because we get absolutely wonderful travels documented for us, he goes all around the world as he becomes an ESL teacher right from high school. There are richly described travels and mundane moments of life all through Asia, Africa, South America and parts of Europe in the past, in the present upon learning of her death he (completely lacking self awareness of it himself in POV) again runs away, so a large part of the letters are written from an impromptu trip all across islands of The Philippines.

For me this was a bit rambling, so could have been more concise and focused. People who enjoyed the characterization and atmosphere of Shadow of the Wind may like this, though this has much less plot. I think there is a lot of room for readers to find different things here, but have to feel the big theme of this was the failure to deal with grief as Vasco's choices & disconnection from people in his life, the fixation on finding a soulmate rather than processing the death of someone he clearly loved, all seem to be stemming from this root problem. At one point in the present a family member dies, even in this he seems a bit frustrated with the grief of the others in the family, how the death impacts them, and doesn't seem to emote about it at all. In the end Vasco's reaction to loss, inability to grieve and move forward with his own life, swallows him up.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Incorgnito Publishing Press for this ARC.

Here’s an unusual book, a series of letters to a former love: a mix of literary fiction, travel fiction, and ghost stories. I did find it slow going at first (I was annoyed by the failure of the narrator to get to the point), but I gradually got into the rhythm of it. My favourite parts were the travel bits — a rare travelogue, sensitive to local culture and people. I also enjoyed the stories about various relationships. Towards the end, the narrator starts to fall apart, and things get both weird and traumatic.

Content warnings for graphic violence and death in the last quarter or so of the book, with descriptions of the activities of the Khmer Rouge (so traumatic I skipped most of those pages). Also a warning about writing about mental health and suicide. These particular topics made me very uncomfortable, and while they were important to the story, I would not have read the book if I’d realised beforehand.

The premise of the book, however, is interesting, and the structure and execution are also worth reading the book for. If you don’t mind the content mentioned above, a worthwhile read.

Rated: 5/10

Unfortunately the writing style is not for me. The premise of the book is interesting but I could not manage to finish it.

A reflective epistolary novel, My Letters to Conceiçao would be a great read for those interested in introspective literary fiction. I think I began reading this book in a period of time where I personally was more drawn to faster-paced, plot-driven or at least more immediately engaging novels, and thus I decided to stop reading this novel at around 25% of the way through. That said, I did enjoy the writing and the feel of this novel - so I do recommend it for anyone in a pensive mood, and rate it three stars.

This novel is very apt at creating an intimate and emotional atmosphere between the reader and the main character and author of the letters, Vasco, who pens these missives to his late ex-lover, Conceiçao. These letters immediately feel personal and their author tangible - I could picture Vasco writing these at whichever hour of the day, at his desk in Cambodia, having to step away from a letter due to the rawness of his emotions, only to write another late in the night. I felt that I knew Vasco.

I think the emotional impact of this novel would depend on the reader - and, perhaps, whether one’s experiences have them identifying more with Conceiçao or Vasco. Regardless of where one lies on that spectrum, I do believe that this book will have you reminisce and think more about love and the various relationships one has with those present in their lives.

Once again, I personally could not finish this novel, but I did fairly enjoy what I read, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a slow/medium-paced introspective literary novel, or who enjoys the epistolary format.

Nicely done. I was pleasantly surprised by this. It is well written, and even though there isn't much of a plot, it kept me engaged. Recommended for literary fiction fans.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

Introspective introvert recounts his experiences while traveling during his 20’s to deceased first love in series of letters.

First person narrator through letters works for most of this story. The writing felt personal and was decent (read as letter/journal writing, some repetition and cliches that you’d expect in letters). Vasco is the most defined character. The rest are sketched. There’s no dialogue. However, Vasco feels personable and I suspect I could pick him out in a line-up based on body posture and facial expression. He has a naïveté, despite his worldly wandering, that makes him like-able and sympathetic. This is another reason the epistolary structure works; it allows for some blank spots we can remain curious about. I prefer books that don’t fill everything in, that allow for some of my own conjecture and imaginings.

It has mostly medium pacing and leans toward the quiet side. Good for slow trains, quiet vacations, times of introversion. Would be less effective if read with noise or visual distractions present. It allows for natural breaks between letters, but could also be read in a day. The further I read, the more I liked it and wanted to find out how it all turns out. Does he have any existential epiphanies? Does he meet the old mystical lady again? Does he find peace with himself? The drama within is quiet. I became impatient about 2/3rds in wondering if anything of significance was going to occur prior to the end. Well, be patient.